


Fireworks

by daphnerunning, Galiko



Series: Dear Moonlight [2]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Implied Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:05:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9714683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daphnerunning/pseuds/daphnerunning, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galiko/pseuds/Galiko
Summary: A little aside, set during Dear Moonlight. Starmine is stressful for everyone, most of all Izumi and Ritsu (and those dang Trickstar boys they have to deal with).





	

Nothing about this is fair.

 

Summer vacation starts off well enough. Izumi isn’t entirely on board with traveling overseas for several weeks, but a chance to get away from the sweltering heat of Japan’s summer _does_ sound nice, and his parents have friends in Spain they want to reconnect with. Not being near Leo, not being near any of his friends, that sounds less appealing, but at least he still has Line, and those messages will get him through enough so that he can enjoy himself and limitless beaches.

 

That is, until Leo lets him know he’s going on vacation, too—camping in Hokkaido, a family thing, and whoops, no electricity. His phone battery _will_ die, and it does.

 

Izumi tries not to be miserable, and fails, all the way up until the point he returns home from vacation (prison), exhausted and jet lagged. At least a Live with Trickstar makes it worth it, because Makoto is there, and for a moment, that seems to make it _fine._

 

Except Makoto hates him, _still_ , and no amount of words or actions seem to fix it.

 

Watching Makoto flee—he’s fleeing, that’s what it is, he’s not just leaving, he’s _fleeing_ —after practice makes Izumi’s chest ache, and he fights back tears as he rips off his practice t-shirt behind the pop-up stage to change in a hurry. He’s sweaty, he’s exhausted, he’s _going_ to throw himself into the ocean, and there’s not a single person he can even complain to. Arashi doesn’t care (or more accurately, doesn’t have the patience for it, but it comes off the same), Leo isn’t here, Makoto hates him. The list of overwhelming, terrible things keeps piling up, and his stomach growls on top of that. Maybe he’ll starve before he drowns. _Good._

 

A fat steamed bun hits the rim of the boat in front of Izumi, still letting off steam into the air. Ritsu’s elbows follow, shoulder nudging against Izumi’s. He isn’t sleepy now, eyes glittering and reflecting the starlight. “It’s the diet version,” he says, nodding to the bun. “Two hundred kcals, low sodium. I got the sweet one too, but Secchan can’t have it.”

 

Izumi blinks, startled into remembering that Ritsu is still around, and he huffs, glancing away. “I can’t right now, just hold onto it,” he mutters, looking down to finish buttoning up his shirt. “Too hot, I’ll puke.” It’s not entirely a lie.

 

“You forgot about me again, huh?” Ritsu folds his arms on the deck, laying his head on them as he slumps forward. “A lot of people do, when they think about Knights. You ever think about what it would be like to be in a unit like Trickstar?”

 

“Not really.” Izumi flops down into a folding chair, wiping a hand down his face, and reaches for his phone out of habit. No messages, of course, and so he stuffs it away again. “I don’t forget about you, dumbass. I just forgot you were still here. You’re not the one pretending to be a shitty interim leader, you don’t have to stick around.”

 

“Don’t be like that. You aren’t pretending to be a shitty interim leader. You _are_ a shitty interim leader.” Ritsu gives him the ghost of a smile. “But I’d probably kill you if you were good at it when Ou-sama isn’t here. So you’re safe.”

 

Izumi’s hands shake. It might have something to do with low blood sugar, it might not, but more than anything, it has to do with the thought of—“I can’t fuck up again,” he blurts out, staring down at his feet, watching them blur. “I’d rather die. I shouldn’t have come to this Live, the three of you should’ve done it without Ou-sama and I, then I wouldn’t…make a scene, and freak out, and be like _this_ around Yuu-kun.”

 

Ritsu bites back what he wants to say, which is _who cares about that dumb glasses kid?_ and instead thunks his head against Izumi’s shoulder. They’ve always been sort of kindred spirits in Knights, the two melancholic pretty boys filled with longings they couldn’t get rid of. Or maybe that’s in his own head, that kinship, but he feels it strongly nevertheless. _Maa-kun gave that glasses kid a piggyback ride, so obviously I want him dead,_ he also does not say, and reaches over, picking at a bit of the bun. “Secchan has more of a heart than anyone gives him credit for,” he murmurs. “I think Ou-sama would be proud of you. Seriously. He’s weird like that.”

 

Izumi shakes his head firmly, and suddenly grabs Ritsu around the waist, hauling him over to make it easier to bury his face into his shoulder. “I’m sweaty and gross and blotchy, no one’s allowed to see my crying face right now,” he mumbles, his voice already hiccuping at the end. “Kuma-kun…please tell me your shitty Trickstar boy at least _likes_ you.”

 

“He gave someone else a piggyback ride,” Ritsu says sullenly, wrapping his arms around Izumi because he’s always been nice to cuddle, everything else nonwithstanding. “So how much could he really like me? I’m probably just going to go back into my grave when I get home and have someone put dirt on it until I feel better. He didn’t care that I reserved his back…”

 

“That sucks.” Izumi hopes that helps to hear, at least, because everyone else thinks Ritsu is overreacting, too attached, too clingy, creepy, needy—all the things he’s normally similarly put down for. “Boys that are like…really _boy_ are so annoying,” he mutters, sniffling. “They don’t get it, or pay attention. Isara’s like that. Sorry about it.”

 

“So’s Yuu-kun,” Ritsu agrees, feeling his own lip starting to tremble. “Th-this is why we can’t date, you know. We’d both j-just cry all the time. Boys are _shit_ , Secchan.”

 

Izumi’s laugh is wet, helplessly escaping him when he tightens his arms around Ritsu, pulling him closer. “Y-yeah, we’d never get anything done,” he whispers, burying his face into Ritsu’s neck. Ritsu, at least, is cool and soft to the touch, not sticky or sweaty or hot like the stifling summer around them, and that’s a balm to his nerves more than anything. “I want to die, but you smell good, so that makes it better. Thanks.”

 

Ritsu nuzzles into Izumi’s shoulder, grabbing the bun and stuffing it into Izumi’s mouth without looking, “Eat that or I’ll bite you. I can smell how low your blood sugar is, it makes me sick.”

 

Izumi chokes, chews, swallows, and glowers, snatching the other half of the bun away from his mouth. “Fuck you,” he mutters. “I’ve been trying to fast since getting back from Spain, my parents kept making me eat. If you bite me and drink my blood, will that make me lighter, you think? I have a weigh-in the day after this Live.”

 

“I dunno, maybe.” Ritsu blinks, and hooks his chin over Izumi’s shoulder. “I told your shitty glasses boy that he’s a piece of shit for the way he treats you. I don’t think he paid attention but it made me feel better.”

 

Now that he’s started eating, he can’t _really_ stop, and Izumi stuffs the rest of the bun into his mouth, finishing it in two bites. Hearing those words makes the tears start anew, and Izumi sniffs, grabbing at Ritsu again, burying his face into his hair. “T…thanks,” he whispers. “I’d…I’d say something to Isara for you, but all he ever does when I'm around is yell about how I should be in jail, so I mostly just want to punch him, sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, I wanna punch Maa-kun sometimes too,” Ritsu says sadly. “With my mouth. On his mouth. He’s stupid for not letting me. I’m as pretty as a girl, right? And I smell better than a girl, smell me.”

 

“My nose is running, hold on.” Izumi sniffles again. “Obviously you’re as pretty as a girl. I can’t believe you haven’t even kissed him, how stupid is he?”

 

“Oh, I’ve kissed him a bunch of times,” Ritsu admits. “But not because he _lets_ me, just because I’m a lot faster than him. Here, you can blow your nose on my sleeve.”

 

“Gross.” He does it anyway, as daintily as possible. “Never thought about speed kissing before,” Izumi wryly admits. “He still doesn’t kiss you _back_ after all of that? I’ve kissed you, you’re good at it.”

 

“I know, right? Mm, a lot of the time he doesn’t because blah blah we’re in public or something. Or because I snuck up on him from behind and went for the neck. But if I get him alone when he’s in my bedroom sometimes he lets me do it.” Ritsu’s lip wobbles, eyes starting to fill again. “If he ever did it first just once I’d probably not be sad all the time…”

 

 _At least you’ve kissed him_ Izumi thinks, helplessly jealous, but that’s not helpful, and it just makes _him_ want to cry again. “I hate straight boys.” Izumi’s head knocks against Ritsu’s shoulder again. “They wanna look at us because we’re pretty, but the second you try to look back, they’re stupid about it.”

 

“Mm, that’s a good way to put it,” Ritsu agrees. “But I don’t get what’s wrong with your boy, you’d let him put it in your ass and mouth, right? I don’t get it, Secchan is really pretty. At least Maa~kun is working up to the idea that I’m gonna eat him alive.”

 

“…Like, physically? Like a vampire? Or in a toppy sex way?” It’s a lot more fun trying to decipher what Ritsu means rather than focus on what the fuck is wrong with his relationship with Makoto.

 

“Whatever he agrees to first,” Ritsu says, shrugging. “I’m game.”

 

“If he’s straight, he’s gonna want to put it in you,” Izumi wearily points out. “I hate boys.”

 

“Yeah, but that doesn’t work for me…and some straight guys like it up the ass, right?” Ritsu lets out a huff. “If he really wanted, I’d let him put it in. But he’d have to be, like, _really_ cute about it. Or manly. Or ask.”

 

“Good luck,” Izumi mutters, flopping his arms around Ritsu’s waist. “Can I tell you something dumb?”

 

“If you don’t, I’ll be the only one saying dumb things, and that sucks,” Ritsu points out, draping his arms around Izumi’s neck. They’ve always cuddled well, bodies fitting together easily.

 

“I don’t even care about kissing Yuu-kun anymore. I just want him to not hate me, and not run away from me.” Izumi bites his lip. “But I think I’ve fucked up too much even for that.”

 

Ritsu sighs. “Yeah. I get that. Secchan…all I can do is say he’s dumb. So he’s dumb. And I bet you’ll be a lot happier when Ou-sama comes back full-time.”

 

Izumi hesitates. Then, he buries his face back into Ritsu’s hair, not quite able to look at him when he says anything else. “We kissed the other day,” he quietly admits. “Like, I was pretty sure Ou-sama wasn’t human enough to kiss people, but…”

 

Ritsu’s eyes go huge in his pale face, trying to digest this information. Then, turning over the idea in his head, he asks, “So, kiss Suuchan already so we can have a Knights gangbang like we always wanted.”

 

“W-what? No!” Izumi’s face flushes, and he shoves a hand over Ritsu’s mouth to silence him. “I’m not kissing the stupid baby, he refused to take fanservice lessons so I’m _done._ I…I’m…Ou-sama and I, we’re…”

 

“Are you seriously dating Ou-sama?” Ritsu asks, muffled and incredulous against Izumi’s hand. He reaches up, pulling the hand off, eyes glittering scarlet in the starlight. “That’s like catching moonlight in a jar, right?”

 

“This is why I didn’t want to tell anyone,” Izumi mutters, glancing aside. “He’s…he’s not that odd when it comes down to it, you know. You’re just used to hearing other people bitch about him nowadays. I dunno, it just…it feels easy, to me.”

 

Ritsu nods slowly, reaching forward to grab Izumi’s shoulders, squeezing. “He’s a lot. I know what it’s like to love someone that’s way too much and disappears sometimes, you know. Ou-sama is pretty human, after all. Congratulations.”

 

“He’s…yeah.” Izumi swallows, shrugging underneath Ritsu’s touch, but not trying to dislodge him. “He makes me feel good. I haven’t in awhile, so I’ll take it.” His gaze slides up, finally meeting Ritsu’s. “Maybe this is a hint that Trickstar boys are no good, huh?”

 

Ritsu scowls. “Secchan is my best friend, but I’ll still bite you if you say mean things about Maa~kun. He’s Maa~kun.”

 

“I’m not saying anything mean. I still hope you get to sleep with him and that he kisses you back. Just, uh. Explore your other options, no one said we couldn’t like more than one person at the same time.”

 

“Hmm…yeah.” Ritsu grins, a little mischievous. “I always like Secchan, if it doesn’t work out with Ou-sama.”

 

Izumi’s eyes roll, and he lifts a hand to wipe delicately at his eyes. “We can’t date, we’d just cry all the time,” he reminds Ritsu, rubbing a hand down his back. “But okay, at least this is a solid fallback. You can top and everything, too.”

 

“Ya~ay,” Ritsu hums, almost purring under Izumi’s touch. “I mean, duh, but it’s nice to hear, too…if you and Ou-sama ever wanna spice it up and Nacchan is busy…”

 

“Naru-kun’s on my shitlist right now. He looked me straight in the eye and said ‘adios, amigo,’ even though I told him I fucking hated Spain.” Izumi grimaces. “Also, ah…Ou-sama and I haven’t like, _done it_ yet.”

 

“What’s an amigo?” Ritsu asks, brow furrowed. “Heh, is Ou-sama into kinky weird Spanish stuff, is that what you’re saying?”

 

“…No. Kuma-kun, I’ve only touched his dick once, but I’m pretty sure he’s into normal stuff. Ou-sama is…really a lot more chill and normal than you’d think, behind closed doors.”

 

“You said that before,” Ritsu points out. “Ne, Secchan…can you imagine us being happy? Like, in a few years, when we’re not teenagers, and people loved us back?”

 

“Yeah, no, not really.” Izumi shrugs, tilting his head back. “I’d like to think that could happen, maybe. But I can’t like…imagine it. Not for me. Maybe for you. Move overseas with your weird brother or something.” Uh, shit, that kinda slipped out, but—well, he still means it, so he doesn’t bother taking it back.

 

Ritsu gives Izumi’s shoulder a punch, not as hard as he could, but not as gently as he could either. “That guy is unforgivable. Secchan, don’t talk about stuff you don’t understand.”

 

“Ow, if you leave bruises, I’ll make you pay for it,” Izumi threatens, gingerly rubbing at his shoulder. “You’re right, I don’t know all about it. But…just try not to sound too much like Yuu-kun about it, it’s not good.”

 

Ritsu scowls, but misery twists in his gut, and he turns away, looking back out at the sea. Izumi isn’t Mao, he can’t just tell him to shut up and expect him to do it, but that’s kinda good, too. “It’s different. You’re not his real big brother. You don’t owe him anything, and you didn’t do anything to him, so he’s just a piece of shit.”

 

“I feel like I did a lot of shit to him. I pulled him into the modeling world. I wasn’t there to keep an eye on him. I broke some promises, shit like that.” Izumi slumps back. “Like, I’m not telling you to stop being pissed or whatever. Be mean and shove him away all you want, I’m sure he deserves it. But like…if he tries to apologize, for real, and in a way that makes sense, maybe listen for two seconds. If he cares, he’ll do it eventually.”

 

“Secchan…” Ritsu scrubs his wrist over his face, trying to get rid of the stinging in his eyes. “You say some pretty deep things sometimes, you know? Fine, I’ll listen, but it doesn’t matter, because he still doesn’t think he did anything wrong, because he’s the worst. And now I’m done talking about bugs.”

 

“Yeah, this is too much honest conversation, it’s starting to freak me out,” Izumi grouses, grabbing at Ritsu’s wrist to make him stop rubbing it over his face. “You’ll give yourself fine-line wrinkles if you keep that up.”

 

“Don’t be dumb, I’m a vampire,” Ritsu reminds him, flashing fangs. “I’m never gonna get wrinkles. It’s not to late for me to turn you, you know…”

 

“Don’t tempt me,” Izumi wistfully says. “I could be young and beautiful forever.” _For Ou-sama, hopefully._ He’s never _really_ sure how serious Ritsu is about the biting thing, but playing along is always sort of entertaining, if nothing else. “All right, get up. It’s getting late and I’m so jet lagged that if I don’t try to sleep, I’m gonna be dead at the Live tomorrow.”

 

Ritsu stands, stretching out with a series of cute little noises. “Huuahh…aahhh…mm, I don’t wanna eat Secchan, anyway. You taste like supplements, yuck. Carry me to bed.”

 

“Do you seriously want me to carry you home?” Izumi exasperatedly asks, standing up with a grimace as he stretches, and stoops to grab up his bag. “I mean, I’ll do it, I guess, then I can burn off a few more calories.”

 

“Fair’s fair, I brought you two hundred calories,” Ritsu reminds him, jumping onto Izumi’s back without a care. “Now you can burn them in my service, yeah? Giddyup.”

 

“Why don’t you weigh more, what the fuck,” Izumi grunts, hoisting Ritsu up more comfortably and heading down the boat ramp and onto the dock. “You’re seriously cute, Kuma-kun. I hope your stupid Trickstar boy starts paying more attention to you. Maybe try lingerie.”

 

“On me, or on him? Ooh, both. Secchan, buy me panties, I wanna be pretty and I don’t have any boobs. Hey, boobs are good.” He reaches around, squeezing Izumi’s chest with one hand. “Nice.”

 

“I don’t have boobs, don’t be an asshole,” Izumi growls, turning his head to glower at him. “There’s lingerie for flat-chested girls that looks nice on guys like us. If I get you some, you should wear it under your uniform and surprise him or something. Even straight guys are into that.”

 

“Mm, good. You should catch Maa~kun for me and tie him up, too. You’re good at that, right? Otogari-kun is good at that too…how do you guys get good at that kind of thing…?”

 

“If you’re wearing lingerie you don’t have to tie him up. Just sit in his lap and grab his hand and make him touch your chest, duh. Don’t make him go for the panties first and foremost, too close to your dick, you have to lull him into a false sense of security.”

 

Ritsu blinks slowly. “Whoa. Secchan really has a game plan, huh? Is Ou-sama into panties, too?”

 

“…No.” Izumi sighs, pausing at the crosswalk once he makes it to the street. “This was my plan if I was gonna try and seduce Yuu-kun. I think it’ll work better for you, though.”

 

“Probably,” Ritsu agrees. “At least Maa~kun doesn’t run away when he sees me. He just thinks I’m like his little sister, which I’m gonna have to keep training out of him.”

 

“Wear lingerie and then bite him, it’s an easy win.” Izumi gently squeezes one of Ritsu’s ankles when he starts to walk again. “Hey. What happened to you being our strategist, huh? Or do cute boys make you stupid, too?”

 

“Only applies to groups. Me and Maa~kun are too small to be a group. This is why 2wink is scary.”

 

“Ah. Sure, whatever. The cute boys excuse was way cooler, just so you know.”

 

Ritsu sticks out his tongue, then, realizing that Izumi can’t see it, sticks it in Izumi’s ear.

 

Izumi squawks, and nearly drops him when he stumbles, only _just_ recovering. “Don’t _do_ that, what the hell!” he hisses, hiking Ritsu up again on his back. “You little shit. Your house is just down on the left, yeah?”

 

“Mm, yeah, with all the vines. Man, this ride _sucks_ , Maa~kun is a much better chariot.” Ritsu buries his face into Izumi’s neck for a minute, holding him close. “I can’t believe I actually feel better. Thanks, Secchan.”

 

“Shut up, I’m a smooth ride, at least,” Izumi lowly grumbles, turning down Ritsu’s block and heading up to Ritsu’s weird, gloomily vine-covered house. Saying nothing at first, he crouches down to let Ritsu off of his back. “I’m glad you feel better,” he quietly says. “I hope he starts paying attention to you. Seriously, I’ll get you some good luck lingerie.” Everyone else always tells Ritsu to drop it and give up, and that’s pretty shitty, Izumi thinks. He might as well have someone in his corner when it comes to the guy he likes.

 

Ritsu hugs Izumi from behind, then climbs onto his feet, stretching out. “You definitely burned more than two hundred calories,” he assures Izumi. “And I’d probably kill anyone but you that tried to date Ou-sama, so congrats. I always said you guys would be good to each other…”

 

“If I jog home, I’ll burn more,” Izumi mutters, already thinking about it as a distraction to how embarrassing it is that Ritsu’s apparently in his corner, too. “Thanks, though.” He hesitates, then slings an arm around Ritsu, giving him a last squeeze. “Don’t suck tomorrow at the Live. I’ve got more shit to worry about than you.”

 

“It’s hot, and it’s during the day, so no promises,” Ritsu says with a shrug. “But I’ll give it a shot. Nn, get held back, Knights is gonna _suck_ next year, I’m gonna miss you too much.”

 

“Ou-sama has a better chance of that, not me,” Izumi points out with a roll of his eyes, hiking his bag up his shoulder further. “Don’t suck. The sun’ll be going down, it can’t be that bad. I don’t like the heat either and I’m sucking it up. See you tomorrow.”

 

“You can come in and cuddle if you want,” Ritsu calls, doe-eyed as he slumps back against the door. “See you tomorrow, Secchan. Don’t stay up all night thinking of Ou-sama.”

 

Izumi hesitates, seriously considering it—and then remembers that he’s unpleasantly jet lagged, feeling very sorry for himself, and most likely, will start sucking on Ritsu’s tongue. Not helpful right now. “Raincheck on the cuddling,” he promises, tossing a languid wave over his shoulder as he heads off. “Later, Kuma-kun.”

 

~

 

Izumi is exhausted.

 

It would be nice to not feel that way for once. He’s still jittery, overstimulated from the rush of performing, but that combines with the shock of a last-minute energy drink, continued jet lag, and next to no sleep to an unholy cocktail.

 

That doesn’t stop him from jumping at the message he sees on his phone when he checks it after the Live, but it does remind him of how far away Leo lives compared to the rest of them.

 

**To: Sena**

**Subject: home!!**

**come overrrrrrrr**

 

Arashi runs off with Mika. Ritsu and Mao are chattering away. Tsukasa jumps at the chance to socialize with fans, surrounded by more girls than Izumi cares to count. And he…he jumps at a single text message, a chance to leave, because no matter the high a great performance can bring, it doesn’t change the fact that Makoto avoids him afterwards, and it leaves Izumi teary-eyed and uninterested in people.

 

Tsukinaga Leo isn’t people, though.

 

He’s still half-way dressed in the Starmine outfit, his coat and cape slung over one arm when he rings the doorbell. He’ll feel better after being around Leo. He certainly can’t feel worse.

 

“Sena! Psst, Sena!”

 

The words come from the side of the house, and Tsukinaga Leo hangs halfway out his second-story window, waving his arms in an effort to attract attention, grinning so wide it looks as if his cheeks are going to split. His face is flushed, hair mussed, and he wears a t-shirt printed with the words **NO ONE CAN HANDLE HOW HANDLE MY HAIR** across the front.

 

A moment later, the door opens, and Leo’s mother blinks at him, putting an earring in her ear. “Ah, Sena-kun, nice to see you again—sorry to run, go on upstairs, I’m just going to get Ruka at school. You boys play nice!”

 

“Thanks, Tsukinaga-san.” Izumi offers a half-hearted bow of his head before slipping past her in the house, toeing off his boots and hurrying towards the stairs. Leo isn’t people, but his mom is definitely people, and that’s way less of what he wants. “If you tanned, I’m gonna be so pissed with you,” he mutters underneath his breath as he stalks up the stairs. “You look like you tanned, stupid king.”

 

Leo opens his door, grabs Izumi by the shirt, and tugs him in, eyes alight. “I’m not tan,” he says cheerfully. “I’m excited! Wahaha, Sena, you were so _good_ tonight, my Knights!” And with that, he lands a sound kiss to Izumi’s mouth, sucking on his bottom lip.

 

That’s a hell of a greeting, and Izumi melts underneath it. Weeks without don’t make this fair. Weeks without even talking to Leo make _nothing_ he does care. Leo is warm and pretty and kisses like he missed Izumi as much as Izumi missed Leo—

 

Wait.

 

Wait, back up.

 

Izumi shakes off the urge to just lie down, and catches Leo by the shoulders, exhaling a hot, ragged breath. “You—wait, what? You…you saw us?”

 

Leo nods, beaming, letting Izumi hold his shoulders. “Yep! I got back right when the concert was about to start, so I snuck in. Ahhh, you looked so tired, though. What’s wrong with you?”

 

“You can’t say I was good _and_ that I looked tired, those are mutually exclusive.” Izumi’s lower lip wobbles. _This isn’t fair!_ he wants to screech while shaking Leo even more. _Why didn’t you tell me you were there, I would’ve done so many things differently!_ “I’m jet lagged, you asshole. I flew in from my summer vacation in Spain because you weren’t going to be there.” And because of Makoto— _unimportant, just shut up._ “I haven’t been able to sleep for five days, I had to write all the choreography for two new songs and teach everyone, including Trickstar, because they fucking suck, a-and all I want to do is eat churros and chocolate sauce because I’m so _tired!_ ” Now he’s crying. That’s _so_ good. “Stop making me be in charge, I hate it!”

 

Leo stares, reaching up to pat Izumi on the head, his own head tilted to the side. “Yeah, you seem real unhappy,” he says frankly. “I thought you were just bad at it, but I guess you’re just kinda sad at it. Ooh, I was super inspired watching you dance—want to hear my new song?”

 

Izumi sniffles, then nods before he just wanders over to Leo’s bed, flops down onto it, and curls up into a ball, folding up his jacket to use it as an additional pillow. “Y-yeah. Go ahead.”

 

Leo drops one of Ruka’s plushies on Izumi’s face, then plops down in his squeaky desk chair, hitting ‘play’ on the midi version of his new song. “No words yet, you know. But Sena’s dancing is so inspiring—and Naru’s confidence, and Rittsu’s smile, and Suou’s passion, I love my Knights so much!”

 

Izumi pulls the plushie off of his face, but doesn’t get rid of it. Curling up around it seems better. Being in Leo’s bed, face partially stuffed into Leo’s sheets, listening to Leo’s music—yeah, that’s better. That’s a lot better than having to deal with anything else. “It’s good,” he murmurs, exhaling a slower, more even breath. “You write so fast. I’ll…I’ll work on dance stuff for it later. Not tonight, maybe tomorrow.”

 

Leo sets the song to repeat, then flops down on the little twin bed, half draped on top of Izumi. “You’re my soft place to come home to, you know?” he says, voice suddenly very honest, free of manic artifice. “Like I can breathe better if you’re here.”

 

“Mm.” Izumi huddles down, trying to get flatter and become one with the mattress, as if that’ll offer Leo a much more comfortable place to lie on. “You’re not people,” he quietly agrees. “Everyone else is too much. Ou-sama, I’m not good when you’re not around, don’t leave again.”

 

Leo squirms around, and winds up lying on his back, squashing Izumi gently to the mattress. “Hokkaido was fun, but I didn’t want to go. How was Spain?”

 

“Bad. Hot. I hate Spain. My mom made me eat all the time. I feel ugly.”

 

“But I think you’re beautiful. You have the prettiest face of all my Knights, you know. That’s a fact. And your skin is still perfect! Mine’s freckly now, look, you can count them.”

 

Izumi shifts, vaguely interested at that. “I still have to lose two kilos by Monday or I fail another weigh-in,” he mutters, thumping the bed with one hand. “Mm. Get off. And let me see some freckles, maybe.”

 

Leo rolls around, flailing for a moment before he launches himself off the bed, landing nimbly on his feet and kneeling down, presenting his face. “Look, lots. Ruka-tan says there are lots, but she’s just mad because she turned into a lobster.”

 

Izumi rolls onto his side, forcing himself to stop being facedown to peer at Leo’s face instead. “…cute,” he mumbles helplessly, reaching out to gently run his thumb over one of Leo’s cheekbones. “They suit you. Damn it, you’re cute.”

 

That touch to his cheekbone makes Leo’s eyes flutter closed, and he lets out a little sound like a purr, butting against Izumi’s hand. “Cute enough to keep?”

 

“Yeah. Cute enough to keep.” Izumi slides a hand back through Leo’s hair, automatically finger combing it. “Come back on the bed,” he quietly urges. “Maybe take that dumb shirt off so I can look for more freckles.” _And just feel how warm you are, please, god._

 

Leo’s eyes flicker with something unreadable, and he nods, stripping off his shirt, climbing back onto the bed, this time wedged next to Izumi on the narrow bed. “Sorry my bed is so little,” he whispers, letting his newly-freckled arms twine around Izumi, resting his head on the pillow next to Izumi’s.

 

“No, it’s good.” Izumi tips his head forward, pressing his forehead to Leo’s. His arms slide their way around Leo’s waist, fingers splaying out over his back as he shifts closer. “Ou-sama needs to stop being _more_ perfect,” he mutters, more or less pouting. “Freckles aren’t fair. Nnn, how is everyone else and everything else too warm and you’re just right, huh?”

 

“I thought freckles were a super Western thing, though,” Leo muses, leaning close to press a soft kiss to Izumi’s nose. “Sena, every time we’re onstage, I want to kiss you, and I thought it would be easier just watching. But it was so much harder.”

 

“You should’ve waved at me or something, idiot. I would’ve jumped off the stage and caused a scene.” Probably not, but it would’ve been better than stressing out and nearly breaking down. Izumi wrinkles his nose underneath Leo’s kiss all the same, and scoots closer, twisting to tangle their legs together properly. “I thought freckles were a Western thing, too. Guess not, look at you. Fuck, I bet Beauty Cam filters would blot them out, that sucks.”

 

“But you don’t need Beauty Cam if we take a selfie,” Leo says, rubbing his foot on Izumi’s pant leg. “Nn, Sena…I know you probably came over to make out…but would you hate me if I wanted to cuddle and listen to music for a while? I’m so tired and you’re my soft place.”

 

“Ou-sama doesn’t understand anything about what Beauty Cam fixes,” Izumi mutters, burying his face down into Leo’s shoulder. “Stop reading my mind. I just wanna lie here and be comfortable. Nnh, let me strip a little,” he exhales, shifting away to do just that. “This costume’s not itchy like some of them are, but it’s too much for me right now. Ah—unless you think your mom’s going to come bother us.”

 

Leo makes a face. “When you get up to strip, pull a chair in front of the door. Then we’re safe except from aliens spying through the window. She usually knocks, though, but I’ll pull a blanket over us for emergencies.”

 

“Can’t forget about aliens,” Izumi wryly agrees, sliding off of the bed and dragging a chair in front of the door as instructed. His shirt hits the floor, and those too-tight, annoying pants do, too, leaving him in nothing but his underwear when he dives back into bed, slithering back down next to Leo and wrapping his arms right back around him. “Sorry if I’m sweaty. I hate summer.”

 

Leo twists out of his pants, leaving him in boxers as well, nestling happily back against Izumi. “I hate a lot of things, but if summer gives me Sena in underpants, it can’t be all bad. Mm, my favorite part of the song is when it dips down low—that’s going to be you, of course, and maybe Naru for harmony.”

 

“Yeah, good. Naru-kun and I practice together a lot, anyway. Well, not right now, he’s on my shit list.” Izumi exhales a long, satisfied sigh at the skin to skin contact. His fingers curl against Leo’s back, and he buries his nose right back into Leo’s hair, breathing in deep. “Ou-sama, you smell good. Mm, I want to sing more new music, you need to write more stuff.”

 

“I wrote you a solo while I was camping,” Leo murmurs, eyelids drooping now that he’s comfortable, curled up in Izumi’s arms. “I haven’t had time to transcribe it yet. Mm, do you smell like Spain, is that that smell?”

 

“Not solos, I don’t want to sing solos,” Izumi complains, though it’s not terribly vehement. “I haven’t been in Spain for a few days, idiot. I probably just smell like boats and whatever fireworks are made of, I dunno.”

 

“I think fireworks smell like sulfur. You just smell like extra-spicy Sena.”

 

“…Maybe it’s all the churros my mom keeps making even though we’re back,” Izumi exasperatedly says. “They have cinnamon and stuff on them. You’d like them, they’re sweet.”

 

“Onii-chan? Oniii-chaaaan, is that a new song? I want to hear it…”

 

Ruka is an unexpected outlier, and Izumi warily grabs for one of the blankets. “Am I hiding or pretending to be asleep on your bed or…”

 

Leo grimaces, then tucks the blanket around Izumi, standing up from the bed and shimmying back into his super cool English t-shirt. He rolls the chair away from the door, opening it to beam at his cute little sister. “Ruka-tan, I thought you were in bed already. Here, lemme put it on a flash for you—wanna start thinking about lyrics? Be nice to Sena, he’s not feeling good.”

 

“…I…Izumi-san is here?” Ruka’s voice goes up a solid octave, her already-sunburnt face flushing as she takes a quick step back. “Sorry, I didn’t know! I’ll go to bed, you can give it to me in the morning, it’s fine!”

 

Girls are fairly predictable, even ones like Leo’s sister. Izumi rolls his eyes, poking his head out from underneath the blanket. “Yo, Ruka-chan. You missed Starmine.”

 

“I’ll be at the next Live! Um—um, did you need anything? If you aren’t f-feeling well, I could…”

 

Leo tousles her hair aggressively, giving her a playful shove towards the door. “He needs rest, you know? Leave it to his beloved Ou-sama, I’ll take care of him. Night! Closing the door on you is a big brother’s privilege!”

 

And he does just that, shoulders slumping afterwards. “She’s so cute,” he says quietly to the door. “But…”

 

“Yeah.” Izumi reaches a hand out from underneath the blanket, making a grabbing motion. “Still lame that you have to be all normal around her. Come back, shirt off. The English is wrong, it drives me nuts.”

 

“Eh? All the words are spelled right, aren’t they?” Nevertheless, Leo strips it off, dragging the chair back in front of the door, and climbing back underneath with Izumi, turning to face him this time, nuzzling against Izumi’s chest. “Sena knows a _lot_. Nerd.”

 

“They’re spelled right, but it still doesn’t make sense.” Izumi’s lips purse, and he grabs at Leo, squeezing him tight in spite of being annoyed. “My mom mostly speaks English at home, you know, so it’s kinda impossible _not_ to know. Ow, sorry, hold on.” Leo’s blankets aren’t exactly snag proof, and it catches a bandaid stuck to one of his thighs that Izumi fumbles with for a second, pressing it back down firmly. “Gross. Squish closer, I’m cold when you aren’t touching me.”

 

The words, _Did you hurt yourself?_ stick on Leo’s tongue for some reason. He only catches the smallest glimpse, but it’s enough to tell him that the regular, even lines that are only half-covered by bandaids aren’t an accident, and that the answer to his question is _yes_ , but in a different way than he’d meant it. Well, at least someone else wasn’t hurting him, he thinks, not entirely sure what to make of the information, but snuggling closer anyway. Maybe it will make sense and he’ll find the words another time. He’s never that sure about words—tricky bastards, always trying to change on you.

 

So he changes the subject. “Rittsu seemed happy. Is Trickstar really so much fun to fight?”

 

“Kuma-kun’s happy because Isara was paying attention to him for more than five seconds.” At least Leo knows how to read the damned mood, and never asks questions that Izumi doesn’t want to answer. He gets his face back into Leo’s hair, because it’s soft and smells nice, an excellent combination. “We had a long talk on the stupid boat about it. I mean, I guess Trickstar’s fun enough to go up against, they have a good energy. But mostly, Kuma-kun just wanted to look at Isara for extended periods of time.”

 

“What’s so good about the way that guy looks?” Leo asks, mildly confused. “If he was going to look at anyone, it should be you, don’t you think? Is he saying my Knights aren’t worthy of his stares? What a confusing boy.”

 

“He has a crush on Isara and wants to kiss him,” Izumi explains wryly. “Not everyone is you, Ou-sama. I mean, I’m flattered that you think everyone should be looking at me, but…”

 

“But I have the best taste, clearly. Because Sena is with me, and cuddling me, and that’s the desired outcome.”

 

“Mm. Ou-sama’s taste is pretty good.” Izumi hides a hint of a smile into Leo’s hair, and curls his arms tighter around Leo, squeezing firmly. “Think your mom remembers I’m here? I bet I could get away with spending the night if she doesn’t.”

 

“If she comes up here, you can jump out the window,” Leo suggests. “It’s not that bad a drop, really!”

 

“Yeah, I’m not gonna do that. And you shouldn’t either, I’ll be pissed if you break your legs.”

 

“Got it, I’ll dive out headfirst.”

 

“And if you break your head, I’ll be even angrier.” Izumi tugs on a handful of Leo’s hair. “Ou-sama, no window jumping. I’ll just go if she wants me to. Ah, pass me my phone, it’s behind you, I should text my mom either way.”

 

Leo twists around, eventually winding up with Izumi’s phone in his hand, passing it over. “You should send her a selfie of us. We’re cute together.”

 

“Yeah, all right.” Izumi reflexively opens up Beauty Cam—then sighs, closing it and opening up his regular camera. It’s worth it for Leo’s freckles to show up. “She likes you a lot, you know. Both my parents do. All right, look cute.”

 

Leo beams at the camera. “Uchuu~!”

 

He nuzzles back against Izumi, trying to look friendly and cute without looking overly intimate. “How did you tell your folks about liking boys?” he asks, more curious than anything.

 

Izumi examines the picture, and even if he’s not overly pleased with how _he_ looks, Leo looks perfect and adorable, so…good enough.

 

**To: Mama**

**Subject: out with leo**

**he just got back from hokkaido. might be staying over, not sure? i’ll let you know.**

 

**To: Mama**

**Subject: look**

**he got freckles…we thought it was a westerner thing??**

**freckles.jpg**

 

“…I confessed to a boy and then panicked, thinking it would get back to my parents somehow,” Izumi wryly admits, stroking a hand through Leo’s hair. “So I told them before anyone else could. I was scared to death.”

 

“What’d you say? What’d they say? I can’t really imagine having a conversation like that, you know?” Introducing something like that to his parents sounds absolutely terrifying, like something that no one would really do. “I thought parents like that were only in American tv.”

 

**To: Izumi**

**Subject: Wow!!!**

**He looks very happy to be close to you sweetheart! \o/ Very cute freckles! Do you need any of your supplements or toothbrush? Love you!!!**

 

**To: Mama**

**Subject: very good freckles**

**i’m ok, i think i have my travel one with me still and my pill case. i’ll ttyl, love you too**

 

“I mean…you know my mom’s nisei,” Izumi points out, setting his phone down and flopping his arm back over Leo. “So I guess that’s an unfair advantage. I don’t remember exactly what I said, I was crying a lot. Probably just that I liked boys. They didn’t act surprised at all, and told me it was fine, that it didn’t change anything, that they were happy I told them…I know most parents probably aren’t like that, I’m lucky.”

 

“I’m glad,” Leo says softly, nuzzling back against Izumi’s chest. “What’s Spain like? I know you didn’t wanna go, but you’ve got to explain what a churro is.”

 

“It’s…uh…I mean, they’re basically just fried dough, and you put cinnamon and sugar on it. Here, I’ve got a pic.” Izumi rolls onto his back, pulling Leo onto his chest as he flips through his phone again. “My mom’s obsessed with them and makes me eat them with her. Here.” He opens up a photo that he’d taken of the veritable dessert banquet his mother had dragged him to, and zooms in on the churros in question. “You can dip them in chocolate sauce. Spain would be better without these fucking things, they’re addictive.”

 

Leo’s eyes go wide. “I want to eat nine of those,” he breathes, leaning close to the phone. “Sena, take me to Spain, I’m dying without churros. All we had in Hokkaido was Japanese food.”

 

“My mom knows how to make them, I’ll ask her to for you.” Izumi switches to another album, and flips through all of the food pictures. “My parents are _really_ into food,” he wryly says. “So vacation is kind of…hellish. Spain’s good for food and beaches, I guess, but I can’t go out in the sun, either. Everything would’ve been better if I could’ve talked to you.”

 

“Yeah, if only the ground could power my phone, we could have talked the whole time,” Leo says, growling a little at the thought that it can’t. “If I went with you, I’d’ve eaten all of it for you. Maybe out of your mouth like a baby bird.”

 

“Kinda weird, gonna pass. Do you have a passport?” Izumi flips to his selfie folder, and offers it up to Leo. “See, the beaches are nice, at least. I could swim when it got later in the day. If you get your passport and your parents are okay with it, I bet you could come with us sometime.”

 

“I’ll turn into a sea creature,” Leo says fondly, flipping through the folder. “Mm, you wear a lot of clothes to the beach. Is that a Spanish thing? No, everyone behind you is naked, weird.”

 

“I didn’t want to get sunburnt. Or get any sun at all, actually. Also, I don’t like it when anyone sees me shirtless or whatever outside of photoshoots.” Izumi snuggles back up to him, plopping his head down against Leo’s shoulder. “You’d be a good sea creature. I bet you’re a hell of a swimmer.”

 

“Nah, I’ll be a sea cucumber. They throw up their stomachs when they get scared, you know.” Leo wrinkles his nose, lingering on a photo of Izumi with his toes in the sand. It’s an oddly gentle photo, and he lets his eyes trace over the outline of Izumi’s legging-clad legs, feeling sort of jealous of sand. “What’s the king of the sea, actually? I’ll be that. Shark? Whale?”

 

“You don’t throw up when you’re scared, dumbass. I think whales are the kings of the sea? Maybe a killer whale. Or are those actually whales, ugh, whatever.” Izumi’s eyes lid. “You’re small. I’m stuffing you in my suitcase next time.”

 

“Really? Do you need a passport if you’re in a suitcase?” It’s a fun little dream, and Leo indulges for a moment. “If you were an ocean creature, you’d be a cute little dolphin. I’ll just be a nearby friendly islander. You can save me from drowning and we can have adventures.”

 

“I wouldn’t be a dolphin, they’re weird. Also, you wouldn’t be drowning. Ah, don’t look at those,” Izumi grouses, leaning over to swipe past the few selfies he’d taken with the pretty Spanish girls his father had shoved half-heartedly in his direction. “Or those, ew, I look bad when I’m smiling. Oh, that’s Mr. Kitty, he was at our hotel, made me think of you.”

 

“He’s a ginger!” Leo exclaims delightedly, zooming in on the fat orange striped cat. “You had the best hotel, definitely. How do you say Mr. Kitty in Spanish?”

 

“Señor Gatito,” Izumi deadpans. “Look how fat he is. They said he was on a diet, but I don’t believe them. He was super noisy, too, just like someone I know. And he had nice paw pads, big and squishy and pink.”

 

“I really hope you squeezed them, Sena,” Leo says, very serious. “I really, really hope you did.”

 

“Yeah, I did. For you. Go two more pictures forward, I took a pic of them for you.”

 

Leo scrolls, and sighs in relief. “This is why you’re the best boyfriend, you know. You always know how to satisfy my wildest dreams. Sen…Sena Gateau is a good cat.”

 

“Señor Gatito. I’m amazed you don’t have fifteen thousand cats stashed here at your house. Look.” Izumi scrolls a few more pictures forward. “Cats everywhere. Birds, too, but those are way less good. I had one steal the spinach right out of my sandwich, ugh.”

 

“The real _ugh_ is a sandwich with spinach in it.” Leo keeps scrolling, watching Izumi getting gradually less relaxed, more tense, and his brow furrows. “Sena is always a model after all, huh?”

 

“Your phone stopped working. I was getting cranky.”

 

Leo slowly draws up his knee, nudging his foot back against Izumi’s thigh. “You didn’t react when I said boyfriend, though. I was being cute. You have to reward cuteness.”

 

“I…” Izumi huffs, reaching underneath the blanket to grab Leo’s foot to still it. “All I did was take cat pics and touch cat paws. I dunno how that makes me the best boyfriend, but yeah, you’re cute.” If he dwells on the boyfriend thing for too long, to be honest, he’ll start getting embarrassed. “Stop squirming, give me your foot properly, I give great foot massages.”

 

“What, from this angle? Sena, you’re silly.” Leo squirms again, moving to get his foot up, pouting. “I’m not as flexible as you. Gimme yours, I assume you can put it in a pretzel.”

 

Just because he can, not because he’s serious about staying that way, Izumi grabs his own leg to pull it up until his ankle is basically parallel to his face. “Yep. What, you can’t? C’mon, Ou-sama.”

 

Leo scowls. “Unfair,” he complains, but grabs his leg, yanking it up over his head triumphantly. “Ha!” He’s just not going to talk about the fact that a muscle feels a bit over-stretched in the back of his thigh. Like, _really_ over-stretched. But it’s _up_ , and it’s not showing on his face, and that’s what matters.

 

“If you hurt yourself doing that, I’m gonna be mad at you,” Izumi bluntly says, releasing his own leg and pulling himself up into a sitting position. “Let it down slowly at least, stupid king. Then give me your feet for real.”

 

Leo laughs, moving to sit as Izumi suggested, shoving over his foot with only a bit of a twinge. “For real,” he says, mock-serious. “A really real foot massage from my really real Sena.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want, I’m gonna blow your mind.”

 

Izumi presses his thumbs in just below the arch of Leo’s foot, dragging them up in slow, even strokes, just like he would for his own feet after a long practice session. “It’s better if I’ve got the right lotion, but this’ll do for now.”

 

At the first touch, Leo tenses, unused to his feet being kneaded like this, but he quickly turns to goo, flopping back against the bed, a gurgling groan the only thing that escapes from his mouth. “Annndhhnnnn….Ghhhnnnn….Ss-sssee…..sss….ghgnnn…”

 

It feels almost as if Izumi has grabbed him by the spine. Leo feels himself drooling, and gives up on speech.

 

Izumi’s expression is smug. “Yeah? That’s what I thought. Don’t fall off the bed, Ou-sama.” He drags his thumb all the way up to Leo’s toes, pressing it in firmly and massaging in slow circles. “Those are some noises you’re making.”

 

 _It’s alien speak_ , Leo wants to say, but it isn’t, it’s just nonsense, because Izumi has him by the foot and is dragging him to heaven that way. His eyes flutter closed, and his hands make weird grabby motions at the air, his whole leg gone floppy and limp. Izumi doesn’t have to worry about him moving towards the edge of the bed. He’s incapable of moving as he is of speech.

 

Izumi finishes up with that foot, patting the bottom of it before grabbing up the other one and starting anew. “You’re being cute again,” he murmurs, stroking up along the arch of Leo’s foot and then moving to each toe. “When you start practicing all the time again, you need to let me do this more, or you’re gonna be stiff and sore all the time.”

 

Leo squeaks, and only barely refrains from kicking at Izumi when the finger on his foot tickles him, making a delightful little shiver run up his spine. He gasps for air, and finally manages to grab some words. “Nnnh….Sena…if you do this all the time…I’m gonna…die…melty…”

 

“Uh huh. You’re not gonna die if I do it all the time, you’ll be more used to it and you’ll feel better.” Izumi grips Leo’s foot harder, methodically kneading into the tension there. “I’m pretty good at legs, too, but I think you’ll implode if I even rub your ankle right now.”

 

“Y-yeah,” Leo agrees with a purr, arching back on the bed. “You should…do my whole body, later. My whooooole body, I bet I’m tense everywhere, I’m always tense, I’m a mess that needs Sena’s talented fingerssssss…”

 

That’s not erotic or _anything,_ and Izumi’s face flushes, shifting to adjust when he’s got Leo arching off the damned bed because of a foot massage. “Too lewd, Ou-sama,” he mutters. “Don’t say stuff like that, people’ll get the wrong idea.”

 

“Mm, like the idea that we’re dating?” Leo asks, face flushed, flopping back again, dragging the pillow above his face. “Don’t look at my face if you’re thinking ero thoughts. Sena is really too much, touching me like this!”

 

“Like the idea like we’re _having sex._ ” Just saying it makes Izumi’s cheeks pinker, and he growls, giving Leo’s foot a last squeeze before releasing it and crawling over him to push the pillow harder against Leo’s face. “You deserve to be suffocated, stupid king. It’s your fault if I’m thinking of anything ero, _obviously._ ”

 

“What a sad way to die,” Leo says, muffled into the pillow, flailing ineffectively, somehow managing to get his legs around Izumi’s waist. “Nnh, but it’s a true idea, isn’t it?”

 

“Die already,” Izumi grouses, even as he realizes exactly how intimately he’s nestled up between Leo’s thighs. Even if they were cuddling for a solid hour mostly naked, it’s a lot different now that he has the way Leo moves on the brain, not to mention the things he had _said_ …Izumi swallows hard, forcing himself to sit back. “Your parents are home, dumbass,” he mutters. “And you’ve got thin walls. Behave.”

 

Leo feels Izumi pull away, and pulls the pillow off of his face, a little confused. “Eh? Did I say something bad? I meant because of last time. Did I dream it? I didn’t, did I?” It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had trouble differentiating between dreams and reality, but it would certainly be the most dramatic time, if he’d just imagined Izumi lying on top of him, stroking, grinding, kissing.

 

“Of course you didn’t. You’re right, it’s a true idea.” Izumi gives one of Leo’s thighs a squeeze. “Just—follow along, idiot. You’re super cute and way too erotic when you’re getting a massage, apparently. It makes me wanna touch you. Your parents are home. Don’t encourage me unless you’re okay with them somehow walking in.”

 

“Oh.” Leo blinks, then tugs Izumi down, curling up against his chest again. “I didn’t get that Sena wants me, heh. We’ve gotta do it again another time. Not at my house, it’s too stressful, Ruka-tan is here.”

 

“How could you not get that I want you?” Izumi exasperatedly says, ruffling a hand through Leo’s hair as he slings all of his limbs around him again. At least the genuine wariness of Leo’s parents—or Ruka—coming in on them is a solid turn-off. “Ou-sama’s too cute,” he grumpily mutters. “It’s your fault.”

 

“My fault? Okay. Here, I’m gonna play you something,” Leo says, fumbling for the tiny remote for his computer, putting on one of Knights’ older songs, sped up to 3x original speed. “Good, right?”

 

“…Uhhh….it’s definitely something. Why did you…do that to it.”

 

“Training,” Leo says, as if it’s obvious. “I’m gonna give this to you, I want you to play it for the others at next practice.”

 

“And we’re supposed to…do what with it, exactly?”

 

Leo blinks. “Write a report. Obviously. I want one from everyone. You get it, right? If anyone does, you will!”

 

Is there any point to this line of questioning? Probably not. Izumi grimaces, and pets Leo’s hair again, resigning himself. “Yeah. Sure. I bet you’ll hear some really fascinating reports, Ou-sama.”

 

“Don’t help the others too much. I want organic reactions, especially from our newbie.” Leo tousles Izumi’s hair fondly, letting short nails rasp against his scalp. “What do you think of Suou?”

 

Organic reactions to that—sure. At least Leo is petting him, whatever. “…Does it speed up with every single English word?” he absently asks, a mix fascinated and perturbed. “Kasa-kun…he’s a good kid. A hard worker. And a total chick magnet, he doesn’t even have to fake the whole chivalry thing.”

 

Leo’s eyes flutter, and he stretches out on the bed, slinging a thigh over Izumi’s hip, hand still kneading gently. “Maybe we should both retire and let him run Knights,” he says softly. “He’s…god, doesn’t he remind you of some of those third years, when we were snot-nosed newbies? Like the ones that we actually liked?”

 

“Mm. A little.” Izumi drops his head forward, letting it thunk against Leo’s shoulder as he exhales a slow, pleased sigh. “I let him join because he likes paperwork,” he admits. “And he likes plotting and planning things…and he loves girls, heh. I don’t know if he’s ready to run the whole thing, though. He stresses me out because when he panics, he stress eats. I can’t handle that kind of thing.”

 

“But he’s not feeding you, right? So let him be a little piggy, and we’ll laugh at him and make him run laps. Nn, make him do my homework if he likes doing paperwork so much.”

 

“Just _seeing it_ stresses me,” Izumi protests, and he irritably digs his nails into Leo’s back. “Do your own homework, you’re gonna get held back a year.”

 

“So?” The looming specter of graduation, leaving Knights, _college_ hangs over Leo, and his face flickers in shadow. “Maybe that would be fun. Do it with me, Sena.”

 

“No, I get straight A’s and I’m keeping it that way.” Izumi runs a finger down Leo’s spine. “Aren’t you getting sick of high school yet? We can get out and you can start your own idol group. You’d get signed immediately, you know that.”

 

“That sounds nice,” Leo says wistfully. _It’ll never happen, but it sounds nice._ To distract himself, he snuggles closer, burying his face. “Tell me about our idol group. You’d do it with me, right?”

 

“Yeah, I would. But I gotta be able to do modeling still, so don’t run me ragged,” Izumi wryly teases, shifting to better tangle their legs together. “You’ve still got to be the leader. Write all the music, I’ll do all the dance choreography, same as always. Mm, we both look good in military style coats, so you’re not allowed to change the theme too much. You still have to be Ou-sama, after all.”

 

Leo goes silent for a moment. The crown is heavy, even if it’s not physical. Izumi is one of the only people who have ever understood that, and understood that to him, it’s so much more than a fun idol theme. Maybe it’s because Izumi takes his role seriously, too. “We’ve gotta bring someone in to do marketing and booking and stuff, I hate those things. They’re nonsense to me. I can’t be your king like that.”

 

“I know. Kasa-kun’s good at that, but he’s a baby, he can’t leave school yet.” Izumi runs his fingers down the back of Leo’s neck, slowly petting him. “We’ll find someone. Or get a good agent to do all the work, heh. My modeling agent probably knows people, I’d ask her. She’s pushy, but…she’d get us a lot of work.”

 

“You can deal with that, then,” Leo says dismissively. Just the idea of that kind of stuff makes him feel itchy and unpleasant, even while Izumi is petting him. “I’ll deal with the sound. You deal with dancing and being beautiful. Already it’s a great group, we just need a singer.”

 

“That’s you, idiot. You have the best voice in Knights.”

 

Leo makes a face. “I mean a _good_ singer. If you guys have gotten bad enough to the point that I’m the best singer, Knights is toast, haha!”

 

“I’m gonna toss you off the bed.” Izumi wraps his fingers through Leo’s hair, giving it a firm pull. “You’ve always been the best singer. Pay attention to the obvious and don’t be stupid.”

 

Leo grunts out a grumpy little noise, pulling his face away from Izumi. “Nn, Sena, don’t get it wrong, I know I’m better than _you_ , I just wish…mmm, I wish I had all the range between you and Rittsu, and all the tone of us all put together, and the breath control of Naru, and the english pronunciation of Suou…if I’m the king, shouldn’t I be able to be better than all of you put together?”

 

“Don’t be unrealistic—or remind me of my failings, you ass,” Izumi grumbles, grabbing Leo by the face and squishing his cheeks between his palms. “If anyone were to look at Knights, they’d _still_ say you were the best singer overall, so don’t put yourself down. Kings are supposed to have an ego, aren’t they? Where’s yours, lord it over me properly.”

 

Leo blinks slowly, then beams, the sun coming out in his eyes, cheeks flushing pink. “Maybe I’m not a king, then—maybe I’m like a god of the old world, where I get more powerful when people believe in me. Want me to be your god, Sena?”

 

“Yes. I mean—“ That was too fast of a response, definitely, and Izumi feels his face immediately grow hot. It’s not like he wouldn’t worship at a Leo-centered shrine or anything, but Leo doesn’t need to know those explicit details. “Ugh, you’re impossible, don’t ask embarrassing things like that,” he complains, smushing Leo’s cheeks again. “God, king, whatever, you’re still Ou-sama.”

 

“Ha, I don’t hate being -sama even when we’re dating,” Leo says smugly. “I bet most people don’t get those kind of perks, but Sena is nothing but perks for me.” He lets his lips purse and open in a puckering fish motion, eyes twinkling.

 

“You say that now,” Izumi deadpans, scowling at Leo before he leans in, planting a firm kiss to his stupid fish lips. “You’re the worst, Ou-sama,” he murmurs. “Or do you want me to start calling you Kami-sama?”

 

Leo laughs, and throws his arms around Izumi, pulling him close, kissing his face over and over again. “That’s not my name, so no! Nn, Sena, kiss me better than that.”

 

“Fiiiine, stop kissing me everywhere then,” Izumi huffs, sliding his fingers back through Leo’s hair to still him and tip his head back. Leo really is—“…as pretty as a girl, what the hell,” he exhales before pressing their lips together.

 

Leo melts into that kiss, blinking away the odd little flutter of nervousness that courses through him. _This is Sena_ , he reminds himself, and lets his hands clutch, dragging Izumi close, feeling the startling wet heat of his mouth, letting his tongue drag against Izumi’s with a soft sigh.

 

“Leo! Did you eat, or do you need dinner?”

 

Leo twists away with a gasp at the knock on the door, getting his feet on the floor, throwing on his shirt inside-out. “I already ate,” he calls, heart thudding in his chest. “I’m fine, everything’s…fine!”

 

“Is your friend Sena-kun still here?”

 

“Yes, I am!” Izumi hastily calls, his own pulse pounding. Leo’s anxiety about the whole thing feels like it’s being channeled directly into his own veins, which is _entirely_ unpleasant. Arashi wasn’t ever like this; annoyed whenever that knock came at the door, for sure, but…ugh. This makes his skin crawl, and makes him want to kiss Leo more and harder. “We’re just going over school stuff.”

 

“Ah, that’s right, Sena-kun is good at school. See if you can talk to his teachers and get him back in 3-A, would you? Colleges look at that kind of thing.”

 

“Yes, Mom, thank you!”

 

A sigh. “I’m only trying to help!”

 

“Thanks Mom, I’ll talk to them!”

 

Once her footsteps fade down the stairs, Leo flops back, pulse still pounding, crawling into Izumi’s lap, arms around his neck. “Don’t talk about it,” he urges. “Just—just talk about something else.”

 

“Okay.” Izumi sags backward, his back hitting the wall the bed is pushed up against, and he wraps his arm around Leo’s waist, dragging him closer. “Or I could just get back to kissing you,” he urges, planting a kiss to the corner of Leo’s mouth first, then to his mouth proper, gently letting his teeth scrape against Leo’s lower lip.

 

Leo nods his head urgently, tangling his hands in Izumi’s hair, straddling his lap and sliding down as hard as his slight form allows. He opens to Izumi like a flower to the sun, or a rarer, stranger flower to the moon, drinking in Izumi’s taste like it’s the only thing keeping him safe, keeping him vibrant and alive. He lets out a soft, urgent moan, startled that just a kiss can stoke his blood so much, can get him so fiery, so fast.

 

Izumi sucks in a sharp breath through his nose, the noises Leo makes sending a hot, electric spike of pleasure down his spine. “Ou-sama,” he breathes, his fingers curling against Leo’s back, fisting into his shirt as he arches off the wall to kiss him harder. So what if this wasn’t the original idea of coming over? Leo tastes good, feels good, makes the cutest noises…Izumi muffles a groan of his own against Leo’s mouth, his eyes fluttering at how the hot, slick slide of his tongue against Leo’s goes directly southward.

 

That sound—a footstep, on the stairs? Leo freezes, but the sound doesn’t repeat, and he breathes out a sigh of relief, leaning forward to let his hands run up and down Izumi’s back, reveling in the brush of skin against skin. “Sena,” he groans, and shifts his hips, rocking down against Izumi as he feels him start to harden against his ass, sucking hard on Izumi’s bottom lip.

 

 _You’re going to get us in trouble_ is on the tip of Izumi’s tongue, but even joking about it sounds like a mistake right now. Instead, Izumi just grips Leo harder, his fingers digging into his scalp when he drags him in for a harder kiss, his tongue raking against the roof of Leo’s mouth, thoroughly tasting until Izumi feels and hears their teeth click together.

 

There’s no harm in rubbing against him like this…right? Leo wriggling against him just makes him harder, and Izumi groans helplessly. One hand skims down Leo’s back, fumbling to grab a handful of his ass when he can’t _really_ help himself.

 

The noise that escapes Leo’s mouth is more of a whimper than anything, and he clings to Izumi as he rocks down, fascinated, addicted to the sensation of Izumi growing harder under his thighs. Izumi’s hand on his ass makes him tense, then shiver, squeezing his thighs around Izumi’s hips. “Sena is…really erotic,” he moans, trying to keep as quiet as possible. It’s stupid, with his parents downstairs, but Izumi feels so _good_ , and he’s so _anxious_ , and he’d been so lovely at Starmine…

 

“You’re worse.” Izumi briefly lets his head drop down against Leo’s shoulder, breath leaving him in a rush when Leo grinds down so perfectly onto his cock. “And noisy,” he mumbles, turning his head to nuzzle into the side of Leo’s neck. His fingers comb his hair out of the way, and Izumi can’t help but to fasten his mouth to that soft skin, gently biting, then sucking as his fingers squeeze and knead into Leo’s ass, tugging him down when his own hips arch up, grinding up helplessly.

 

Leo gasps, clapping a hand over his own mouth when Izumi attacks his neck, shivering down to his toes, feeling electric heat sparkle through him. He reaches back, fumbling for his remote, turning up the music to a thrumming beat, just one tick under the maker on his remote that’s labeled ‘mom will come check if u turn past here.’ His and Sena’s voices mingle on the track, and he finds a rhythm, rocking down, raking his nails up Izumi’s back. “Better?” he breathes, biting his own lip as he squirms.

 

The nails down his back make Izumi hiss, and he lunges forward, compulsively dumping Leo onto his back and following after him. He falters, just for a moment, before going with it and sucking on a different spot on Leo’s neck, his hands gripping Leo’s waist as he scoots his knees up closer, panting at the way their cocks rub together between thin fabric. “Better,” he breathlessly agrees, nipping gently at an earlobe, and snaking a hand underneath Leo’s inside-out shirt to drag trembling fingers over a nipple. “Ou-sama…you’re so cute, what the hell…”

 

Leo has no energy to respond, not when Izumi is plucking his strings like he’s a well-tuned harp, sending arcs of pleasure spasming through him. He’s achingly hard, eyes dark, pupils blown when he cants up his hips. “S-S-Sena…” he pleads, wriggling under Izumi’s hands, then giving up and letting his hands flop down over his head. “Take care of your king, I’m horny.”

 

Izumi muffles a ragged little laugh into Leo’s neck, nipping again when he drags a hand down Leo’s belly, thumbing at the waistband of his boxers. “Yeah, I’ve got you,” he whispers, his hand slipping down, his fingers wrapping around Leo’s cock. A sharp exhale escapes through his nose at the feel of Leo’s cock in his hand, hard and hot and twitching when he slowly squeezes. “Nn…Ou-sama…even when you’re all flushed like that, I can still see all of those freckles you just got.”

 

“Yeep!” Leo squeaks, hands coming up to cover his face. Despite all of it, despite the fact that they’ve done this much before, he’s still embarrassed. No one else has ever seen him like this ( _almost no one, no one he wants_ ), and feeling Izumi’s warm hand wrapped around him is more than he can handle. “Nn…just like that…it’s like Sena can read my mind…and my mind is about Sena…”

 

“Shut up,” Izumi huffily mutters, and makes sure to do the job himself by pushing Leo’s hands away, and catches his mouth in another, hard kiss.

 

Sucking on Leo’s tongue when he’s got a hand down his underwear and his fingers around his dick makes him shiver. Izumi aches between his own legs, his cock throbbing every single time he strokes and squeezes Leo, his thumb dragging down the sticky, slick mess beading at the tip of Leo’s cock down the length of him. _Fuck, we’re stupid_ , he hazily thinks, because at any point, Leo’s parents could walk in, interrupt and see that they are _much_ more than just friends.

 

_Oh well._

 

“You’re so cute,” he groans again, tongue flicking out to drag over Leo’s lower lip when he pulls back just enough to breathe. “Ou-sama—I can feel…nn…every single time it feels _really_ good to you, you get all tense and twitchy in my hand…you like it when I act in charge, huh?”

 

Leo nods, hands fisting in the sheets, bringing up his legs, wrapping them around Izumi’s waist. He ruts up with every twitch, every twist and squeeze of Izumi’s hand, feeling Izumi’s palm get more slippery with every slow, urgent slide. “I like it…when Sena…turns into my brave knight,” he groans, back arching again when Izumi’s thumb catches on the head of his cock.

 

It feels like he should be doing more, but Izumi has him in the palm of his hand. It had felt that way when Izumi had only had his _feet_ —like this, it’s a thousand times more intense, and he hisses out each breath, blood pounding harder with every stroke. “Good…good man, taking c-care of your k-king—“

 

It’s not _just_ tossing around the teasing words of a roleplay between them. It never really has been, and that’s definitely why Leo calling him his _brave knight_ , praising him for taking such good care of his king…that all sends a shudder down Izumi’s spine, and makes him grip Leo, squeeze and stroke and rub down against him like there’s nothing else more important in the world.

 

“Just cling to me, Ou-sama,” Izumi rasps, hating the way his voice sounds when he’s this turned on, all rumbly and deep, but there’s nothing to be done for it when Leo is dripping over his fingers, trembling underneath him, horny and desperate. “I’ll make you feel good. Next time…next time I’ll get on my knees for you, my king can have every part of me—“

 

Leo lurches up in desperation, biting suddenly into Izumi’s shoulder as he comes, the force of it taking him by surprise, shaking him down to his bones as he covers Izumi’s strong, delicate hand. In that moment, when colors sparkle and shine in his vision, Izumi _is_ his knight, proud and strong, phantom cape fluttering in a nonexistent breeze, his own crown sliding down off of his head.

 

“S-sena,” Leo breathes into Izumi’s shoulder, a broken, ragged sob as he clings, whole body trembling. “M-my Sena…”

 

The sudden, abrupt spark of pain makes Izumi jerk and shudder, his own face burying down into the crook of Leo’s neck, into the mussed, sweaty hair sticking to it. He bites into his own lip, hard, hard enough to taste blood, and just one, helpless rut down against Leo makes his own vision blur as he comes, not even giving a damn that it’s a sticky mess in his underwear and the two of them are clingy, sweaty piles of limbs. “Ou-sama…” Izumi sags, his limbs trembling until he flops on top of Leo. “Ou-sama…nhh, you’re so perfect, I’m gonna die…”

 

“Sena…can’t die,” Leo breathes, cuddling Izumi close, throwing a blanket over the both of them, chest heaving. “He needs…to defend his foolish, clingy king.”

 

“I mean…yeah, I gotta,” Izumi dazedly agrees, planting a kiss to the side of Leo’s neck, nuzzling at one of the tiny hickeys he left. _Whoops._ “But I like you foolish and clingy,” he murmurs, smoothing a hand down Leo’s back. Post-orgasm, he’s going to just be way more honest, isn’t he? There’s no choice. “It’s good. It’s you.”

 

Tears prick at Leo’s eyes, and he sniffs, trying to blink them away. “Aha…I’m just going to be embarrassing now, huh? Hurry up and defend me more, show me your back so you don’t look at your king’s embarrassing face when he’s so in love.”

 

“Nnn, fine. Don’t make fun of the moles on my back,” Izumi huffs, not at all pleased with having to move, but complies anyway, flopping around with a series of grumpy noises. It’s hard to be _too_ grumpy when Leo is being this cute. _So in love_ —yeah, basically. “There, now I’m your shield, Ou-sama.”

 

Leo wraps his arms around Izumi, then his legs, pulling him so close that they couldn’t be closer without one of them being inside the other. He hooks his chin over Izumi’s shoulder, and murmurs, “I really need a shield _in_ my mind, you know. But this’ll do.”

 

“I know.” Izumi’s eyes lid, and he reaches down, curling his fingers over one of Leo’s hands before carefully lacing their fingers together. “I keep trying to be that, too, as much as I can. Sorry I suck at it.”

 

“It’s okay. I do too. I guess kings and knights can still get better at stuff together, huh?” Leo squeezes once, and lets his eyes droop closed. “We’ve got time.” _Because my arms are too tight to ever let you go._


End file.
